Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus)

Family: Asteraceae or Compositae | Edibility: Edible (2/5)

Bloom Color: Blue, Lavender, Pink, Purple, White. Main Bloom Time: Early summer, Early fall, Late summer, Mid summer. Form: Upright or erect.

Edible Parts & Harvest Seasons

Edible Parts: Flowers

Harvest Seasons: Early Summer, Spring

Flavor & Culinary Uses

The young shoots are edible. Flowers - raw or cooked. The fresh florets can be used in salads. They are used as a vegetable or a garnish. An edible blue dye is obtained from the flowers, used for colouring sugar and confections. — The young shoots are edible.; Flowers - raw or cooked.; The fresh florets can be used in salads.; They are used as a vegetable or a garnish.

Habitat & North American Range

Once a common weed of cornfields, as a result of modern agricultural practices it is now very rare in the wild. Found especially on porous, nutrient-rich soils. (Zone 4, Zone 5, Zone 6, Zone 7, Zone 8)